August Extra Blog

Last week, I got to go see the Broadway tour of Once with some people I knew from a theatre I interned and got my summer mentorship hours at. From watching the show and looking at the stage, I learned about some techniques that could possibly enhance a production and entertain the audience. When I was watching the show, I thought the plot was fairly simple, somewhat overly dramatic, cheesy, and predictable. However, I thought the show fared better from a technical stand point. Although the scene changes were also simple, and hardly any props and sets moved during transitions, I thought the sound system was amazing, especially since all the actors were playing their own instruments for music. I was sitting so far in the back, I couldn't even see the performers' faces, but I could hear everything as if they right next to me. This taught me that sound is important because if you can't hear anything, then you won't know what's going on. The show also had some cool lighting effects that I thought contributed to the mood and plot, but I did not take any pictures because it was during the show.

The faces I could not see

I also learned that audiences like being involved. Before the show and during intermission, members of the audience were allowed to go up on stage and talk to some of the cast and order drinks since the show is set in a bar. I think this helped the audience become more immersed in the show and make them feel as if they were a part of that world.

Picture of the stage before the show with audience members, cast, and crew mingling on it

In the building, there was also a wall inviting people to post up notes on how they met someone significant to them.

After the show, it was the effort to engage the audience and some of the technical aspects that got my attention, and it is what I believed made the show better than it was.

Blog 4: Interview Preparation

1. Who do you plan to interview? Why? 
I plan to interview my mentor, Daniel Volonte because it is convenient for me, and he seemed enthusiastic about me interviewing him.

2. You have to ask 5 questions. What additional questions do you plan to ask? Ask open-ended questions.
1. Why have you stayed in theatre, rather than go more into television or film?
2. Is it hard to keep up with all the advancements in technology and how do you keep yourself informed on everything that's going on?
3. How much does a formal education help someone in this field?
4. Do you maintain a relationship with other professionals in the field? Do you think this is important to do this and why?
5. How did you get started in theatre tech and what made you keep pursuing this field?

Blog 3: Topic Choice and Working EQ

1.  List your topic here:

Theatre Tech

2.  Write a question that helps to focus your research this month.

How can a theatre technician best utilize the theatre around them to captivate an audience during a show?

3.  Post the working bibliography (WB) on the right hand side of the blog and share it so anybody can view it.

This is my Working Bibliography and there is also a link on the right hand side.

Blog 2: Summer Mentorship Component

Literal:  

1. (Know) Using google doc (drive) link a log of specific hours and a description of your duties

Mentorship Log

2. What is the contact name & number of where you volunteered?

Covina Center for Performing Arts

(626) 331-8133

3. (Need to know) What questions were raised because of the 10 hours of experience?  List them.

• What is a theater tech's average salary?
• Does a formal education in technical production help a theater tech on the field or help them with getting a job?
• Is there any job advancement?
• What is a theater tech's work hours like?

Interpretive:

4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

The most important thing I gained from this experience was the importance of organization. In a theater that regularly puts on shows, it is easy to lose track of props and costumes, and this can become terrible if the props aren't yours or the show is about to start. After every show, we made sure every prop was labelled and put in their respective places and every costume was put away neatly to make everything easy to find and put less work on ourselves. Organizing all the cables around the building that were related to the lights and sound were also important to make sure everything technical would be working for the show.

Applied:

5. What is your senior project topic going to be?  How did what you did help you choose a topic?  Please explain.

My senior topic is going to be on theater technology. I originally wanted to commit to a topic related to the medical field, as that is the career I plan on going in, but I wanted to explore other possible topics as well as expand my skill set. Based on what I did this summer, I chose theater tech because I found it to be something I enjoyed, and I was able to find a mentor for it.